Public Radio Stations’ Best Live Sessions of 2022

Across the country, public radio stations (thankfully) reopened in 2022 and had a busy year churning out great live music sessions. These are the best of the bunch, with studio performances, home recordings, and socially distanced outdoor settings.

Big Freedia with Tank & the Bangas, World Cafe At Home session

Big Freedia has built an enduring body of work as a recording artist, stage performer, and global ambassador for New Orleans bounce. Over the past 20 years, Big Freedia’s career has included far-reaching collaborations, including the likes of Beyoncé, Drake and Sia. In this session, Freedia performed live with the winners of the Tiny Desk contest, Tank and the Bangas, for a Cafeteria of the World session with host Raina Douris. –Rich McKie, wxpn

Jamaaladeen Tacuma, “The Battle of Images”

Nearly four decades ago, Jamaaladeen Tacuma released a tribute to icon Paul Robeson, titled renaissance man. Fueled by disappointment and disbelief that he had only recently learned of Robeson’s story, Tacuma approached his record label with an idea for a project that would shed additional light on Robeson’s extraordinary life. Earlier this year, we were delighted to invite Jamaaladeen into our acting studio for an extended and recharged movement treatment of “The Battle of the Images”. The session features violinist Kathleen Thomas, the Ebony String Quartet and Bob Zollman on timpani, all part of the original release on…